By Zaldy Dandan
Variety Editor

Not more of the same

DESPITE what its officials say, the NMI Republican Party is not yet unified which is not good for voters who are yearning for an alternative to the dismal state of affairs on Capital Hill. The GOP’s leaders have yet to grasp that the people are looking for leadership that serves the public interest — not more petty political squabbles. Republican leaders, however, appear to be under the delusion that the electorate will vote for any candidate as long as he is not on the pro-administration ticket.
What voters are now realizing is that the GOP in opposition performs just as badly as when it was in charge. Republican lawmakers have absolutely no new ideas and no workable solutions to the mess their party helped create. Among the GOP House members, only Representative Taman has offered a real cost-cutting measure — the abolition of municipal councils. Yet his party mates in Precinct 4 will not even include him on their slate.
The Democratic Party, for its part, has ossified, consistently producing only one or two candidates capable of winning in any election, as long as it is on Saipan and not CNMI-wide.
It is this sad state of affairs that has made it possible for third-party successes, even if victory is won with less than one-quarter of the voting population.
The challenge for voters is to choose the kind of new leadership the CNMI needs, but not one person has emerged to engage their interest in a genuine way. This must change. Politics and governance have to change. Otherwise, what is now happening to the islands will only get worse.

Why nothing happens

THERE is some $50 million in capital improvement funds available from the federal government, but the CNMI government remains incapable of developing a plan that the U.S. Department of the Interior will approve. This is money that should have been tapped and circulated in the economy last year, but the bureaucrats in charge will not make the appropriate decisions.
Apparently, as long as its political hires are able to draw a paycheck, the administration has no intention to lay even a single brick during its term in office which, for the sake of the CNMI, should end in Jan. 2010. In fairness, this is one area in which the former administration excelled. But it is a lesson lost on its lame-duck predecessor completely.

Still unsavory

THE Commonwealth Utilities Corp. has announced that it is prepared to privatize government utilities, again. But the terms of privatization were not disclosed to the public and the circumstances leading to this decision have also been kept secret.
What firms developed the studies? What are the terms? What is the impact and what will the CNMI get out of privatization?
There is no doubt that the CNMI would benefit from privatizating the utilities, but only if it is done right. However, the chances of that, given the unsavory history of privatization efforts at CUC, are pretty slim.